Documents: ATF agent shot Friday in Spokane was undercover

A federal agent shot Friday was part of an undercover operation at a Motel 6 west of downtown Spokane, according to court documents released Wednesday.

The documents allege Vincent Petrushkin was one of three men involved in the shooting, which sent a large police response to the hotel in the evening hours Friday. An Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent was shot and later released from the hospital, but authorities have been tight-lipped about what led to the violent encounter.

The shot agent is not identified in court documents prepared by FBI Special Agent Taylor Clarke. Neither is a potential shooting suspect.

The agency had set up a deal at the hotel involving Randy Holmes, according to court records. Holmes was seen in surveillance video “exchanging gunfire” with the undercover agent near a gray Dodge Charger. The Charger fled the scene of the gunfight.

About an hour later, police tracked the Charger to a nearby Hampton Inn. Surveillance video at the hotel showed Petrushkin and William Burns leaving the vehicle. Police found both men nearby and questioned them.

Petrushkin told police he’d traveled to the motel to buy a gun with Holmes, according to court documents.

Petrushkin was under post-release supervision following a 17-month prison term for a second-degree felony assault charge. That prison term followed a guilty plea in an incident that occurred on the Monroe Street Bridge in August 2020, court records say.

A man said Petrushkin grabbed him and attempted to throw him over the railing. Petrushkin was sentenced in November 2020, and was ordered to spend 18 months on court supervision after the crime. His conviction makes possession of a firearm illegal.

Petrushkin appeared in a federal courtroom Wednesday afternoon, clad in a yellow Spokane County Jail jumpsuit with a shaved head. He did not enter a plea. A hearing to determine whether he’ll be held in jail awaiting trial is scheduled for early next week.

Neither Holmes nor Burns are listed in custody of the Spokane County Jail. Burns is identified in court documents as the suspected “look-out” in the deal at the Motel 6. He told police he caught a ride with Petrushkin and Holmes, but didn’t know what was going to happen at the motel.

Petrushkin told police the Glock pistol used in the firefight was provided by Burns.

A Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center spokesperson said Wednesday she could neither confirm nor deny if Holmes was a patient.